Opinion

When I first came to Williston and found out that graduation was in Gainesville, I was a bit surprised. Chiefland, Cedar Key and Bronson all hold their commencements at the schools. Then last year I went to graduation for the first time, and it was pretty good. I was still wondering how I would like traveling out of town for a Williston ceremony. This week, I went again, and I've come to the conclusion that my first impression was wrong. Going to the University of Florida's Center for the Performing Arts is a great thing, and I applaud whoever thought of it originally.

I have to comment on these two stories of animal abuse that were in your paper. It's good that people get to read these stories, so they will be aware of just how bad the animal neglect and abuse situation is.

It's about time the legal system takes animal cruelty seriously. It's a crime and the law needs to step up their penalties for it.

They need to enforce stiff penalties for people who abuse animals. What was done to those horses at Beauty's Haven Farm is horrible.

There were some items in the news from this area recently that deserve comment.

BOY DIES ON HIGHWAY: In neighboring Ocala, a 7-year-old boy was killed when he was struck by a vehicle while he was crossing Interstate 75 on foot.

Take the time to digest a couple of things from that sentence: 7-year-old, and crossing the highway on foot.

There are a number of blogs going on about this incident, and they are divided into two camps. First, they feel sorry for the parents and want to help them, and second, where were the parents when this was happening.

When I was asked, a few years ago, to show my driver's license or other photo ID before I could vote, I was annoyed. I had been voting at the same place, with the same address, with the same signature on the books, for some time.

It was explained to me that this was a new law to prevent voter fraud.

Gradually, and grudgingly, I came to accept it. After all, who doesn't have a photo ID? It's very easy to get, even if you don't drive.

For incoming City Council member Shoemaker to call the Airport Committee members self-serving is both an insult to this dedicated group of citizen volunteers, but also unjust and unfair. They are a diverse group (pilots, a mortgage broker, local business owners, a clergyman, council representatives, and the City Manager/Airport Manager) who spend many hours not only working toward improvement of the Williston Municipal Airport and Industrial Park, but also for economic development and job creation on behalf of Williston area residents.

Parents, players and coaches, we at Ark Print Wear are proud to say that we are the company that does the printing for the WYAA uniforms and have been doing them for the past three years. As well as doing the printing for them, we are also a proud sponsor of the WYAA.

I did not grow up in Williston, but have been fortunate enough to have lived here for almost 20 years. Not long after moving to Williston, I realized that it was not just a town, but a group or community of people that worked together for the betterment of "the community."